Housing manufacturing system and method

ABSTRACT

A system for manufacturing homes is provided. An embodiment includes a sub-assembly plant for assembling planar sections of a home according to production schedule for custom homes. The embodiment also includes at least one final assembly facility located proximal to a subdivision where a plurality of the custom homes are to be situated. The final assembly facility is for receiving the planar sections from the sub-assembly plant and for constructing the homes from planar portions according to the production schedule.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

Applicants claim priority of Canadian Application, Ser. No. 2,563,187,filed Oct. 11, 2006.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to construction and inparticular a housing manufacturing system and method.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Housing is a critical aspect of social living. The construction ofhouses and other dwellings is therefore a well-known and highly refinedart. Construction techniques and esthetic styles are well known forsingle family dwellings, detached and semi-detached houses,condominiums, apartment buildings, town houses, and the like.

Automation is also broad reaching and used heavily in a broad range ofindustries and is used to build cars, trucks, planes, electronics,appliances and many other products. Automation techniques areincreasingly being applied to the housing industry, and indeed are usedheavily in the manufacture of modular and panelized homes. Modular andpanelized homes are well suited to automation due the fact that eachunit is substantially identical and therefore an automated assemblyfacility can be designed to build each unit in substantially the sameway using substantially the same components for each unit.

Far more vexing, however, has been the application of automationtechniques to conventionally site-built homes. Conventionally site-builthomes are typically built on the final construction site. They are oftenfavoured over modular and panelized homes as they can be uniquelydesigned, both on the exterior and interior, to reflect the individualtastes of the homeowner. Many agree that a community of conventionallysite-built homes is also far more aesthetically pleasing than amonotonous matrix of identical modular or panelized homes.

The uniqueness and size of each conventionally site-built homes isanathema to prior art automation techniques. The uniqueness of each homemakes it difficult to manage and store stock. The size of each homemakes it difficult to transport the home from the manufacturing facilityto the site of the dwelling.

The prior art reveals several attempts to automate the construction ofconventionally site-built homes. In 1978, U.S. Pat. No. 4,110,952 toBlachura, proposed a technique for constructing individual houses in afactory and delivering them to prepared foundations on a large tract ofland. The issue of size was addressed by locating the factory near thefinal tract of land where the house would be situated, therebyminimizing the traveling distance from the factory to the final site ofthe dwelling. More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,504 to Cohen et al.proposed a movable manufacturing facility The movable manufacturingfacility of Cohen intended bring standard size home buildingcomprehensively within a controlled factory environment. Cohen disclosedthat the main structure of the movable manufacturing facility wassufficiently tall to allow assembly and movement of standard size homeswithin. Cohen proposed multiple independent production lines to eachproduce portions of the dwelling in the form of subassemblies.

Unfortunately, the prior art has not proposed a practically feasibleautomation method for conventionally site-built homes. Since thefacilities must be located close to the site for each house, the priorart facilities cannot produce enough homes to justify the capitalinvestment required for the associated facility.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an aspect of the invention a system for manufacturing homes isprovided. The system includes a sub-assembly plant for assembling planarsections of a home, such as walls or floors, according to productionschedule for custom homes. The system also includes at least one finalassembly facility located proximal to a subdivision where a plurality ofthe custom homes are to be situated. The final assembly facility is forreceiving the planar sections from the sub-assembly plant and forconstructing the homes from planar portions according to the productionschedule. Each home in the production schedule can be different.

The sub-assembly plant of the system can include an assembly line forproducing at least a portion of the planar sections.

The sub-assembly plant of the system can include at least one of aframing station, a drywall application station, a mechanical servicesstation, an insulation station and a covering station. The insulationstation can comprise an injector and a flowable closed cell foamdispenser for injecting the foam into a cavity defined by a frame and adrywall covering of the frame.

The planar sections can comprise wall sections that are provided with aplurality of removable hangers.

The system can include a truck for transporting the wall sectionsincludes an overhead rail for receiving the hangers. The truck caninclude a plurality of floor rails, one floor rail corresponding to eachoverhead rail. The floor rails are complementary to a skate, and aplurality of skates can be used to move each wall section.

The final assembly facility of the system can include at least one areafor building a roof for each the home and an overhead crane for placingthe roof on a respective home according to the production schedule.

Another aspect of the invention provides a truck for transporting planarsections of houses including a plurality of substantially paralleloverhead rails for receiving hangers disposed within the sections.

The truck can include a plurality of floor rails, with one floor railcorresponding to each overhead rail. The floor rails of the truck arecomplementary to skates, and a plurality of skates can be used to moveeach planar section.

Another aspect of the invention provides a sub-assembly plant forassembling planar sections of a home according to a production schedulefor custom homes, the sub-assembly plant for providing the planarsections to at least one final assembly facility located proximal to asubdivision where a plurality of the custom homes are to be situated.The facility is for receiving the planar sections from the sub-assemblyplant and for constructing the homes from the planar sections accordingto the production schedule. The sub-assembly plant comprises an assemblyline for producing at least a portion of the planar sections.

The sub-assembly plant can further comprise at least one of a framingstation, a drywall application station, a mechanical services station,an insulation station and a covering station. The insulation station cancomprise an injector and a flowable closed cell foam dispenser forinjecting the foam into a cavity defined by a frame and a drywallcovering of the frame.

Another aspect of the invention provides a final assembly facility forreceiving and assembling planar sections of a home according to aproduction schedule for custom homes. The planar sections received froma sub-assembly plant that assembles the planar sections. The finalassembly facility can be located proximal to a subdivision where aplurality of the custom homes are to be situated. The final assemblyfacility is for constructing the homes from the planar sectionsaccording to the production schedule. The final assembly facility can bemovable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, withreference to certain embodiments and the attached Figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a home manufacturing system andmethod in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the sub-assembly plant withinFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is representation of certain stations in the sub-assembly plantof FIG. 2 that are for framing wall sections of a house;

FIG. 4 is a representation of certain stations in the sub-assembly plantof FIG. 2 that are for applying drywall to the frame;

FIG. 5 is a representation of a transfer section in the sub-assemblyplant of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a representation of a station in the sub-assembly plant ofFIG. 2 that is for installing building mechanical into the frame;

FIG. 7 is a representation of a station in the sub-assembly plant ofFIG. 2 which is for injecting insulation into cavities of a frame of awall;

FIG. 8 is a representation of a station in the sub-assembly plant ofFIG. 2 for applying a coating, such as drywall, to the frame;

FIG. 9 is a representation of certain stations in the sub-assembly plantof FIG. 2 that is for affixing the coating to the frame and forrevealing cutaways;

FIG. 10 is a representation of a transfer station in the sub-assemblyplant of FIG. 2;

FIG. 11 is a representation of a staging area of the sub-assembly plantof FIG. 2;

FIG. 12 shows part of a hanging system for hanging wall sections madeusing the sub-assembly plant of FIG. 2;

FIG. 13 is an isometric view that show the hanging system of FIG. 12 ingreater detail;

FIG. 14 is a partial sectional view that shows the hanging system ofFIG. 12 in greater detail;

FIG. 15 is an isometric view showing how the hanging system of FIG. 12can be used to store and transport wall sections made using thesub-assembly plant of FIG. 2;

FIG. 16 is an isometric view of an exemplary final assembly facilityfrom the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 17 is a top planar view of the final assembly facility of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 shows an exemplary mechanism for transferring a house builtusing the system of FIG. 1 onto a foundation;

FIG. 19 shows how the mechanism of FIG. 18 can be removed once the housein FIG. 18 is in position on the foundation;

FIG. 20 shows a perspective view of a skate and a rail for use in movingwall sections in accordance with another embodiment;

FIG. 21 shows a front view of the skate of FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 shows a side view of the skate of FIG. 20;

FIG. 23 shows how the skate and rail system can be used to store andtransport wall sections; and,

FIG. 24 shows a modified version of the final assembly facility of FIG.17 in accordance with another embodiment,

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1, a home manufacturing system is indicatedgenerally at 50. System 50 comprises a sub-assembly plant 54 and aplurality of final assembly facilities 58-1, 58-2, 58-3. (Collectivelyreferred to as facilities 58, and generically as facility 58. Thisnomenclature is used elsewhere herein.).

Sub-assembly plant 54 receives raw building materials 74 via truck 82and produces fully assembled wall sections 78 of each house 70 which areshipped from plant 54 via truck 83. Also produced in sub-assembly plant54 are floor portions 80 which are also shipped via truck 83.

Each final assembly facility 58 is located proximal to a subdivision 62or tract of land consisting of a plurality of adjacent lots 66 wherehouses 70 manufactured according to system 50 will be located. Lots 66appear as squares in FIG. 1, while each house 70 appears as an “X”within a square in FIG. 1.

Sub-assembly plant 54 is typically a permanent structure having alocation that is chosen in a manner so as to consider efficient accessto raw building materials 74 while also considering efficient access tothe plurality of subdivisions 62. Other factors influencing the locationof plant 54 include more traditional considerations including labour,electricity, gas, and water. As an example, and assuming the otherfactors are not a significant consideration, then plant 54 can (thoughneed not be) located so as to be substantially equidistant from allsubdivisions 62 while still being accessible to raw building materials74.

In contrast to sub-assembly plant 54, each final assembly facility 58 istypically a temporary facility that is used for assembling wall sections78 and floor sections 80 and the roof into the house structure. Eachfacility 58 is also used to complete final finishes on each house 70before depositing the finally assembled house 70 onto the foundation ofits intended lot 66. Thus, it is contemplated that sub-assembly plant 54may at any given time serve different sets of final assembly facilities58. For example, as different subdivisions 62 are filled with houses 70,then the final assembly facility 58 associated with that subdivision 62will be dismantled, while another final assembly facility 58 is situatednear a new, empty subdivision 62. Put in other words, sub-assembly plant54 need not be supplying each subdivision 62 at the same time, and thus,the location of sub-assembly plant 54 can be chosen to be proximal toeach subdivision 62 considering that not all subdivisions are beingbuilt at a given time.

Referring now to FIG. 2, sub-assembly plant 54 is shown in greaterdetail. Raw materials 74 are received at plant 54 via raw-material truck82 (or other transport) and placed into a staging area 86. Raw materialsinclude all of the basic building components for creating wall sections78 and floor sections 80. Such raw materials thus include the materialsfor framing a house, including wood or metal studs, as well as drywall,windows, insulation, and building mechanical. (As used herein, buildingmechanical includes all electrical, plumbing, heating ventilation andcooling (HVAC) ducts, central vacuum, telephone, cable, Ethernet,including outlets and junctions therefor, and any other components whichare typically run within the interior or exterior walls or floors of ahouse.)

Plant 54 also includes a wall assembly line 88 that can be automatedwith robotic equipment or manually implemented and/or a combination ofboth. In a present embodiment, wall assembly line 88 includes aplurality of stations labeled as 90-1, 90-2, 90-3, 90-4, 90-5, 90-6 and90-7. Each station 90 progressively builds one entire wall section foreach house 70.

Referring now to FIG. 3, stations 90-1 and 90-2 are shown in greaterdetail, as raw material 74 in the form of studs 94 are constructed intoa frame 98. Stations 90-1 and 90-2 are preferably fully automated, suchthat studs 94 are automatically loaded into machinery and assembled intoframe 98, and attached to each other, using robotics and otherautomation equipment. Preferably, such automation equipment is alsocomputer numerically controlled, so that the dimensions of frame 98 andthe location of window and door frames are automatically supplied to therobotics. In this manner, it is intended that computer schedulingsoftware can be used to substantially automate the scheduling aspect ofthe production of each frame 98 according to supplies of raw material 74and/or the demands for particular types of wall sections for a givenhouse 70 at a given subdivision 62.

The remaining stations 90 in line 88 are likewise configured tosubstantially complete an entire wall for a particular house 70. In FIG.4, station 90-3 is shown in greater detail as a first layer of drywall(or other type of covering) is automatically applied to frame 98. Glue102 is applied to frame 98 via a robotic glue gun 106. Sheets of drywall110 are automatically placed into position via a vacuum assist arm 114.(Vacuum assist arm 114 can be manually operated, or automaticallyoperated via a robot). An automatic staple gun 118 mechanically fastensdrywall 110 to frame 98. A robotic cutter 122 removes portions ofdrywall 110 to expose doors 126 and windows 130 within frame 98.

In FIG. 5, frame 98 is shown existing station 90-3 at which point it isturned over and deposited into station 90-4 exposing the backside offrame 98. Preferably, frame 98 is turned over in an automated fashion inkeeping with the automation of assembly line 88.

In FIG. 6, a cutaway of frame 98 is shown. In FIG. 6, representingstation 90-4, mechanical components are run through each frame 98. (Asmentioned previously, such mechanical components include all electrical,plumbing, heating ventilation and cooling (HVAC) ducts, central vacuum,telephone, cable, Ethernet, including outlets and junctions therefor,and any other components which are typically run within the interior orexterior walls or floors of a house.) In FIG. 6, representativemechanical components include an electrical outlet 134 and electricalconduit 138. Mechanical components, in a present embodiment, aretypically installed manually by semi-skilled labour. When house 70 isfully assembled, the integrity of these mechanical components can betested by skilled trades (i.e. licensed electricians for electricalcomponents; licensed plumbers for plumbing). The exact locations, andtypes of mechanical components installed within frame 98 would again bedone according to building design and specifications for a given house70. The choices of mechanical materials can be traditional componentsused when building a house on-site in the traditional fashion, however,the mechanical materials can also be chosen to complement theenvironment of assembly line 88. Also, of note, the mechanical materialswould be chosen to have relatively simple connections or junctions asthe periphery of each frame 98, to facilitate connection tocorresponding mechanical components in adjacent Wall sections 78. Suchlocations and types would be presented automatically via a computerscreen to the individuals conducting the installations at station 90-4.

Once the mechanical components are installed in frame 98, frame 98 isadvanced from station 90-4 to station 90-5. Station 90-5 is representedin FIG. 7. In station 90-5, foam insulation 146 is injected in aflowable form into cavities 142 defined by drywall 110 and studs 94 offrame 98. Foam insulation 146 will cure within each cavity 142. Apresently preferred foam insulation is a closed cell foam that iscommonly used to insulate buildings and homes and is often sold inpreformed sheets. In a present embodiment, an overhead X-Y gantry 150which includes an injector 154 that dispenses foam 146 into each cavity142 according to a predefined depth and pattern. Gantry 150 and injector154 are likewise computer controlled.

Note that while insulation 146 can be applied in any wall portion of ahouse 70, typically insulation 146 is only applied to the exterior wallsof any given house 70. However, it can be desired to apply insulation146 to interior walls where sound proofing is desired, such as betweenbathroom walls or bedroom walls. Thus, where no insulation 146 is neededfor a given frame 98, gantry 150 can remain dormant for that particularframe 98.

Station 90-5 also includes a second glue gun 158 that that applies asecond layer of glue 102. Glue gun 158 operates in substantially thesame manner as glue gun 106.

Once the insulation 146 and glue 106 are applied at station 90-5, frame98 is advanced from station 90-5 to station 90-6. Station 90-6 isrepresented in FIG. 8. In station 90-6, a covering 162 is applied to theexposed side of frame 98. A vacuum assist arm 166, much like arm 114,can be used to place covering 162 onto frame 98 in station 90-6. Whereframe 98 is for an external wall, covering 162 can be a sheathing, suchas plywood, oriented strand board, code board or the like. Where frame98 is for an internal wall, then covering 162 will typically be the sameas drywall 110.

At this point those skilled in the art will also now appreciate thatcovering 162 (and/or drywall) can in fact be any type of covering forframe 98 to present a visible surface for an interior or exterior wall.

Once covering 162 is applied at station 90-6, frame 98 is advanced fromstation 90-6 to station 90-7. Station 90-7 is represented in FIG. 9. Instation 90-7 covering 162 is mechanically fastened to frame 98 and, ifneeded, cutaways, such as for doors and windows, are made. In FIG. 9, itis assumed that covering 162 is drywall, and accordingly, a staple gun166, much like staple gun 118, is used to apply staples along covering162 along studs 94. However, where covering 162 is another type ofmaterials, another type of mechanical fastening device, andcorresponding fasteners, other than staple gun 166, can be used.Cutaways are made by a robotic cutter 170, much like cutter 122, toexpose doors and windows and the like.

As can be seen in FIG. 10, once work in station 90-7 is complete, aplanar wall section 78 is now substantially complete and ready forshipping to its destination final assembly facility 58 for assembly intoits respective house 70. Thus, referring again to FIG. 2, sub-assemblyplant 54 also includes a staging area 174 where completed Wall sections78 are vertically stacked and queued for eventual transport via trucks83 to its respective final assembly facility 58. Staging area 174 isshown in greater detail in FIG. 11. Optionally, as shown in FIG. 11,further work can be done on each section 78, such as adding windows 178.

At this point it will now be reiterated to those of skill in the artthat assembly line 88 is highly configurable so that each wall planarsection 78 that is produced can be very unique in terms of dimensions,locations of doors and windows, type and location of buildingmechanical, type of external coverings. Thus, as purchaser's makerequests for specific configurations of houses 70, so too cansub-assembly plant 54 be configured to schedule production runs ofspecific wall sections 7 accordingly. Likewise, such production runs onassembly line 88 can be scheduled so as to fill trucks 83 according tothe particular final assembly facility 58 to which such trucks 83 aredestined.

Various means of loading wall sections 78 into trucks 83 arecontemplated. However, in a presently preferred embodiment of theinvention, a hanging system is employed. Referring now to FIGS. 12-15, anovel and inventive set of removable hangers 182 are employed in orderto suspend wall sections 78 during transportation in trucks 83. As bestseen in FIG. 12, a series of hangers 182 are mounted to the top of eachwall section 78. An appropriate number of hangers 182 are employed inorder to securely support the weight of each wall section 78.

As best seen in FIGS. 13 and 14, each hanger 182 comprises a threadedeye bolt 186 that can be screwed into (or removed from) a complementarynut portion 190. Nut portion 190 has a flange portion 194 and afemale-threaded portion 198 which receive the threads on bolt 186.Flange portion 194 abuts the under-side of stud 94, whilefemale-threaded portion 198 is received within a hole that passesthrough stud 94. Flange portion 194 thus supports the localized weightof each stud 94. The height of female-threaded portion 198 is chosen tosubstantially match the depth of stud 198, or is at least less than thedepth of stud 198, so as to not protrude from the top of stud 94 andthereby alter the dimensions of frame 98. Those skilled in the art willnow recognize that once wall section 78 is received at facility 58, eacheye bolt 186 can be removed from female-threaded portion 198, so thatsection 78 is left with no projections and the dimensions originallyprescribed.

As best seen in FIG. 15, hangers 182 thus can be slid into a channelizedoverhead rail 202 within staging area 174 that align with a channelizedoverhead rail 206 within truck 83. Rails 202 and 206 capture the eyeportion of eyebolt 186 so that rails 202 and 206 can support the weight,and allow the storage of wall sections 78. A plurality of rails 206 canbe disposed in parallel and/or series within each truck 83 so that aplurality of wall sections 78 can be carried simultaneously by truck 83.

Referring again to FIG. 2, sub-assembly plant 54 also includes aflooring area 210 where sections of floor 80 are manufactured. Floor 80can be manufactured using an assembly line like assembly line 88, ormanually, as desired. However manufactured, each floor 80 constitutesall or part of a floor for each house 70. Again, each floor 80 is madeaccording to the custom design of each house 70. Where a house 70 hasmultiple stories, then flooring area 210 can be used to make floors foreach story. Each floor 80 is likewise shipped via truck 83 to adestination assembly facility 58.

Thus, once floors 80 and wall sections 78 are complete, they shipped viatruck 83 their intended final assembly facility 58. Referring now toFIGS. 16 and 17, an exemplary final assembly facility 58 in accordancewith another embodiment is shown in greater detail. As best seen finalassembly facility 58 is made from a temporary structure, which in apresent embodiment is a flexible material 214 held by a temporary framemade of aluminum tubing, not shown. A presently preferred flexiblematerial 214 is the same material used to build a so-called “tennisbubble”.

Facility 58 also includes a pair of rails 218 that run the length offacility 58. Each house 70 is built upon a pair of beams 222 that runalong the length of rails 218. A roof 226 for each house 70 is built ata first, beginning end of rails 218. Roof 226 is built from trusses 230received via an inbound loading dock 234 which receives trucks 83.

Wall sections 78 and floors 80 received via dock 234 are assembled inorder to build the exterior and interior shell of the first house 70-1on rails 218. During such assembly mechanical components between eachwall section 78 and floor 80 are connected. Once shell of house 70-1 iscomplete, an overhead crane or gantry is used to place roof 226 ontohouse 70-1.

Assembly facility 58 includes a plurality of stations, responsible forvarious stages of completion of each house. Facility 58 in FIGS. 16 and17 is shown with eight houses, 70-1, 70-2 . . . 70-8, each at variousstages of completion. Inventory 238 for each station is kept adjacent toeach station. Each station is used to progressively finish each house70. Such finishings include, for example: stairs, railings, lightfixtures, plumbing fixtures, painting, doors, windows. Again, all stepstaken at each station can be completely customized according to theorder of the purchaser of the house 70.

Once a house is complete, such as house 70-8, it exits facility 58 viaan output docking port 242 transported via a specially designedtransporter 246. Transporter 246 has a flatbed which sits above a frontand rear cab, both of which having controls for steering the transporter246. Transporter 246 is also steerable via remote control, so that theoperator can be outside of transporter 246 and maneuver transporter 246while having full view of all angles of transporter 246. Transporter 246also has steerable front and rear axles in order to be able to tightlymaneuver the house 70 to its final lot 250. The flatbed of transporter246 is below-grade to facility 58, so that rails 218 are on the samelevel as the flatbed of transporter 246.

As best seen in FIG. 18, house 70-8 is then carried by transporter 246to the final lot 250 within subdivision 62 where house 70-8 is to beplaced. Also as seen in FIG. 18, the flatbed of transporter 246 (notshown in FIG. 18) comprises a pair of slider-rails 254 which supportbeams 222 of house 70-8. House 70-8 is slid off of slider-rails 254 andonto a pre-poured foundation 258 on lot 250. Foundation 258 includes aplurality of tapered sockets 262 which are positioned to receive thedistal ends of beams 222 in a complementary manner.

As best seen in FIG. 19, once house 70-8 is in position on foundation of258, beams 222 can be removed by unfastening and removing ajoining-plate 266, which separates each beam 222 into halves and allowsremoval of each beam 222 from the basement of house 70-8. While FIG. 19shows two halves, it should be understood that each beam 222 can have aplurality of sections connected with a plurality of removablejoining-plates.

It is to be understood that sub-sets and combinations and variations ofthe foregoing embodiments are contemplated and within the scope of theinvention. One such variation is shown in FIGS. 20, 21 and 22, whichdepict a skate 300 a which can be used to maneuver wall sections 78.Skate 300 a comprises an inverted-U shaped body 304 a and a plurality ofwheels 308 a mounted to the extremities of each arm 310 a of body 304 a.Wheels 308 a are rotable within each arm 310 a so that skate 300 a canbe rolled along a surface, such as the floor of sub-assembly plant 54.

As seen in FIG. 20, a rail 320 a, complementary to the inverted-U shapeof body 304 a can be mounted along a surface, such as the floor ofsub-assembly plant 54. Skate 300 a can be rolled over rail 320 a, sothat rail 320 a will guide the path of movement skate 300 a.

Referring now to FIG. 23, (a modification of FIG. 15), a modifiedversion of truck 83 is shown and is labeled as truck 83 a. Truck 83 aincludes a plurality of rails 320 a mounted along the floor thereof. InFIG. 23, overhead rail 202 of sub-assembly plant 54 is omitted, andskates 300 a are used to move wall sections 78 throughout sub-assemblyplant 54. As can be seen in FIG. 23, it is contemplated that a pluralityof skates 300 a can be used. Wall sections 78 rest on the surface ofskates 300 a and can be slid into truck 83 a by aligning hanger 182 withoverhead rail 206 within truck 83 a, and correspondingly sliding skate300 a over the rail 320 a that corresponds with its matching overheadrail 206. In this embodiment, hanger 182 is simply for guiding andmaintaining wall section 78 vertical in truck 83 a, and the weight ofwall section 78 is supported by skate 300 a.

Another variation is shown in FIG. 24, which shows a modified layout ofassembly plant 50 and labeled as plant 50 a. Plant 50 a is an entirelymetal structure, but preferably, panelized in a manner that plant 50 acan still be disassembled from one location and reassembled at another.Plant 50 a differs from plant 50 also in the fact that plant 50 a isT-shaped. The wider section of plant 50 a can be used as a staging areafor trusses 230, wall sections 78 and floor sections 80. Additionally,the wider section of plant 50 a permits multiple areas in which toassemble roves 226, with at least two such areas being shown in FIG. 24.Also shown in FIG. 24 are multiple loading docks each with a truckadjacent thereto for supplying inventory to plant 50 a.

The present invention thus provides, amongst other things, a novelsystem and method for manufacturing homes by providing a sub-assemblyplant for producing walls and floors and one or more final assemblyfacilities for assembling full homes from those walls and floors andother inventory.

While the foregoing describes certain specific embodiments of thepresent invention, it should be understood that variations, combinationsand sub-sets of those embodiments are contemplated.

1. A system for manufacturing homes comprising: a sub-assembly plant forassembling planar sections of a home according to a production schedulefor custom homes; and, at least one final assembly facility locatedproximal to a subdivision where a plurality of said custom homes are tobe situated; said facility for receiving said planar sections from saidsub-assembly plant and for constructing said homes from said planarsections according to said production schedule.
 2. The system of claim 1wherein said planar sections include at least one of floor and walls. 3.The system of claim 1 wherein said sub-assembly plant includes anassembly line for producing at least a portion of said planar sections.4. The system of claim 1 wherein said sub-assembly plant includes atleast one of a framing station; a drywall application station; amechanical services station; an insulation station and a coveringstation.
 5. The system of claim 4 wherein the insulation stationcomprises an injector and a flowable closed cell foam dispenser forinjecting said foam into a cavity defined by a frame and a drywallcovering of said frame.
 6. The system of claim 1 wherein planar sectionscomprise wall sections that are provided with a plurality of removablehangers.
 7. The system of claim 6 wherein a truck for transporting saidwall sections includes an overhead rail for receiving said hangers. 8.The system of claim 7 wherein said truck includes a plurality of floorrails, one said floor rail corresponding to each said overhead rail. 9.The system of claim 8 wherein said floor rails are complementary to askate and wherein a plurality of said skates can be used to move eachsaid wall section.
 10. The system of claim 1 wherein the final assemblyfacility is movable.
 11. The system of claim 1 wherein the finalassembly facility includes at least one area for building a roof foreach said home and an overhead crane for placing said roof on arespective home according to said production schedule.
 12. The system ofclaim 1 wherein each home in said production schedule is different. 13.A truck for transporting planar sections of houses including a pluralityof substantially parallel overhead rails for receiving hangers disposedwithin said sections.
 14. The truck of claim 13 wherein the truckincludes a plurality of floor rails, one said floor rail correspondingto each said overhead rail.
 15. The truck of claim 14 wherein said floorrails are complementary to a skate and wherein a plurality of saidskates can be used to move each said planar section.
 16. A sub-assemblyplant for assembling planar sections of a home according to a productionschedule for custom homes, said sub-assembly plant for providing saidplanar sections to at least one final assembly facility located proximalto a subdivision where a plurality of said custom homes are to besituated; said facility for receiving said planar sections from saidsub-assembly plant and for constructing said homes from said planarsections according to said production schedule; said sub-assembly plantcomprising an assembly line for producing at least a portion of saidplanar sections.
 17. The sub-assembly plant of claim 16 furthercomprising at least one of a framing station; a drywall applicationstation; a mechanical services station; an insulation station and acovering station.
 18. The sub-assembly plant of claim 17 wherein theinsulation station comprises an injector and a flowable closed cell foamdispenser for injecting said foam into a cavity defined by a frame and adrywall covering of said frame.
 19. A final assembly facility forreceiving and assembling planar sections of a home according to aproduction schedule for custom homes; said planar sections received froma sub-assembly plant that assembles said planar sections; said finalassembly facility located proximal to a subdivision where a plurality ofsaid custom homes are to be situated; and for constructing said homesfrom said planar sections according to said production schedule.
 20. Thefinal assembly plant of claim 19 wherein the facility is movable.